The widening rift between the U.S. deficit and Chinese surplus in trade in manufactures showed no sign of abatement in the fourth quarter of 2014, according to an analysis from the MAPI Foundation, the research affiliate of the Manufacturers Alliance for Productivity and Innovation (MAPI).
In the report, Ernest Preeg, MAPI Foundation senior adviser for international trade and finance, notes that the U.S. trade deficit in manufactures in the fourth quarter rose by $19 billion, or 14 percent, compared with 2013, and increased by $61 billion, or 12 percent, for calendar year 2014. Preeg estimates this led to a net loss of 425,000 American manufacturing jobs.
Meanwhile, the Chinese surplus in manufactures increased by $35 billion in the fourth quarter and rose by $85 billion for the year to $998 billion, which rounds to a record $1 trillion annual surplus. Quarterly Chinese exports of $614 billion more than doubled the $302 billion of U.S. exports. This represents a dramatic change from 2000, when U.S. manufactured exports were three times larger than Chinese exports.
"The 3 percent growth in U.S. manufactured exports in 2014 completes President Obama's five-year strategy to double U.S. exports, but manufactured exports were up by only 41 percent during that time," Preeg wrote. "In stunning contrast, Chinese manufactured exports soared by 96 percent over the last five years."
